Review of Son of Dracula (1943) by Ryan V — 21 Jan 2017

A wealthy southern family finds their plantation under siege shortly after it's visited by a mysterious Hungarian nobleman named Count Alucard (Lon Chaney Jr., not exactly suited to his role). The movie, within its first five minutes, feels the need to spell out that this guy's name is "Dracula" backwards, so it shouldn't surprise anyone to find that just about every other plot point is telegraphed just as obviously.

Robert Siodmak brings expressionistic directing that emphasizes mood, dread, and lots of scene-blocking that makes excellent use of both fog and shadow. That, coupled with nifty special effects from John P.

Fulton and an eerie score composed by Hans J. Salter, puts Son of Dracula a few notches above the usual sort of horror movie that Universal was assembling in the 1940's. This film is pulpy trash as a whole, but the high level of craftsmanship makes it into a pretty solid B-movie.